Kitten's New World

The lightning struck on the other side of the mountain. The flash briefly turned the black sky violet; thunder shook the branches of the bleached tree.

The kitten soon recovered -- she barely remembered a time when the drums of the sky had been quiet. She decided to go for a walk, for the rain had calmed to a drizzle and she had not left her branch in many hours.

She stood up, and climbed down. The ground seemed different -- the grainy softness was most unlike the blades of silk the little kitten remembered. It was damp, too, and there was a sweet swishing sound nearby. The kitten walked towards it, and drank. The spring-water was cool and pure. She drank for many minutes, and then looked up. Before, the little pool had been deepest black, but now a blue-white disc had appeared. The kitten reached out to touch it with her tiny paw.

The disc wobbled and broke up. Disappointed, the kitten walked on. She knew by the feel of the ground beneath her and the smell of the air around her that this was not the world of play and danger she knew. She pondered this as she went, and then she met the skull.

"What are you?" the kitten wished she could ask. She tried to mew, but all that came was silence.

"I was an antelope head," answered the silent skull, "but now I am here to welcome you to this new world. It is often dark, and often silent, but always beautiful."

The kitten stared between the antelope's horns for an eternity, and then walked on.